Hello,
Canada could be about to lose one of its Liberal parties. BC Liberal members will be asked to vote on a new name for the venerable party.
Subject to the pending vote, the British Columbia party could take on the name BC United.
The possibility, announced on Tuesday, would be a major rebranding for a party that governed, most recently, under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark between 2001 and 2017. Prior to that run, the party last ruled in 1952.
The proposed new name was one of 2,000 suggestions from party members vetted through a process of review by the centre-right, “free enterprise” party that has no affiliation with the federal Liberal Party of Canada.
Other names in the mix included the BC Party, Together BC, One BC and the Pacific Party, BC Liberal vice-president Caroline Elliott said in an interview on Tuesday.
The voting process is to be laid out in the coming weeks and party members are to cast their votes “by the end of the year,” the BC Liberals said in a statement. They have already registered BC United with Elections BC as an alternative name.
Ms. Elliott said the idea of a name change, supported by two-thirds of members at a convention this year, has been bandied about for about two decades, but is now being discussed as a part of a renewal process. The BC Liberals failed to win power in the province’s 2020 election, in which the BC NDP won a majority for the first time since 1996, and John Horgan become the province’s first BC NDP leader to win a consecutive second term as premier.
Ms. Elliott said the move is not being done as a reaction to challenges facing the federal Liberals. “That’s not what it is being driven by at all. This has been an ongoing conversation for so long in our party,” she said.
However, political scientist Hamish Telford said the name issue has bedevilled the BC Liberals.
“[The party] has always styled itself as a coalition of Liberal and Conservative voters and it is, for all intents and purposes, a conservative party. It is the right-of-centre party in the B.C. political spectrum,” said the academic from the University of the Fraser Valley.
“So the name has not always resonated well with a large portion of the party’s base. Now, with Justin Trudeau having been prime minister for seven years, some more conservative members of the BC Liberal party base don’t like that identification, however erroneous it is, between their party and Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party.”
Ironically, he said, the party has lost its liberal urban base while retaining its conservative base so the party’s new leader, Kevin Falcon, faces the task of rebuilding the urban liberal base.
Of the new proposed name, Mr. Telford said it sounded like a soccer team, but also that it speaks to the party’s depiction of itself as a coalition of Liberal and Conservative voters.
In a statement, the BC NDP said the name change won’t hide aspects of the record of Mr. Falcon, a former finance minister, such as cuts to health care budgets and increased costs imposed on British Columbians.
Asked if she had advice for other parties elsewhere in Canada considering such name changes, Ms. Elliott offered one key point. “By far the most important thing is to make sure you are engaging members.”
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
HURRICANE COSTS COULD REACH $700-million – With insurance for coastal flooding damage largely unavailable, much of the recovery costs from post-tropical storm Fiona will likely be borne by homeowners and government disaster financial assistance programs. The total cost of damages has yet to be determined but estimated losses could range between $300-million and $700-million in insurance claims. Story here. Also, Justin Trudeau travelled Tuesday to PEI, where he inspected damage caused by Fiona and pledged to find ways to build more resilient infrastructure. Story here.
FORMER EMBASSY GUARD IN KABUL SEEKING HELP – Mohammad Salim Saberi, who used to guard Canada’s embassy in Kabul, was attacked by the Taliban recently when he ventured out of his safe house to get his cellphone fixed. Now he says they are tracking him. Mr. Saberi is in hiding while he continues to wait for word from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on whether he will be approved for resettlement. Story here.
RCMP REVIEWING THREAT AGAINST CONSERVATIVE LEADER’S WIFE – The RCMP says it is reviewing a complaint from federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre concerning a social-media livestream in which two men discuss sexually assaulting his wife. Story here.
MOST PROVINCES HAVEN’T MADE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION DAY A STATUTORY HOLIDAY – While Canada prepares to honour the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Friday, the majority of provinces have not followed the federal government’s move to make it a statutory holiday for its workers. Story here.
RCMP IN ALBERTA URGED NOT TO ENFORCE OTTAWA GUN ACTION – Alberta’s Justice Minister has directed the RCMP not to enforce Ottawa’s firearms buyback program and has plans to join a series of lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of banning certain guns. Story here.
QUEBEC ELECTION – The proposed Third Link commuter tunnel between Quebec City and the suburb of Lévis, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, has elicited passions beyond its effect on commute times in the provincial capital. During the current election campaign, the Third Link has become a controversial wedge issue and a battleground for Quebec’s environmental aspirations. Story here. Also, a Québec Solidaire candidate in a Montreal riding has withdrawn from the campaign after security camera video circulating on social media showed her removing a Parti Québécois campaign leaflet from a mailbox and replacing it with her own. Story here from CBC.
RETURN TO WORK PUSHBACK PROMPTING PUBLIC SERVICE DEBATE – The return-to-work pushback of Canada’s public servants could lay the groundwork for the most radical change in the federal government’s relationship with its employees in a century. “The resistance reveals a grassroots shift taking place in the public service that’s all about power and control,” says a story here from Policy Options.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Sept. 27, accessible here.
NEW SENATORS – Flordeliz (Gigi) Osler, a surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba, and former privy council clerk Ian Shugart have been appointed as independent senators to fill vacancies for Manitoba and Ontario. Both were recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. Dr. Osler spoke to CBC about the appointment here.
OPPOSITION DAY MOTION – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tabled an opposition motion in Parliament on Tuesday, calling on the government to eliminate its plan to triple the carbon tax.
BRADLEY DEPARTING – After five speakers and 10 Parliaments, the communications director for the House of Commons and the Speakers Office is headed for the door. “Personally, it’s time for a break and new adventures – I am looking for a little more ‘me’ time and time with my amazing family and friends,” Heather Bradley said in an e-mail.” I am a lucky person to be leaving a job that I have loved.” Asked about parting thoughts, Ms. Bradley said the parliamentary system works. “MPs are elected with a wide variety of interests and opinions but they all care about their country. Respect for the rules, practices, precedents and traditions of this place is critical to the day-to-day proceedings and the speaker plays a key role in making it work but the ultimate responsibility belongs to MPs,” she said. Ms. Bradley is being replaced by Amélie Crosson.
THE DECIBEL
On Tuesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Jasmin Ramsey – the deputy director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran – talks about the protests that have arisen since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody three days after the was picked up by Iran’s morality police on Sept. 13 for allegedly not wearing the proper hijab. Ms. Ramsey talks about why this incident has caused so much outrage, what Canada and other international communities are doing in response and whether change to the Iranian regime will come from these mass demonstrations. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Stanley Bridge, PEI, held private meetings and met with community members affected by post-tropical storm Fiona. During his travels, he also took media questions. Later, Mr. Trudeau, in Sydney, N.S., met with community members affected by Fiona and visited the Canadian Coast Guard College.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, held a media availability and spoke with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and Halifax Mayor Mike Savage about recovery efforts from post-tropical storm Fiona. He then was scheduled to attend Question Period and meet with representatives of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
TRIBUTE
John Reid, a self-described “maverick” Liberal MP who stuck to principle even at the expense of his political ambitions and became a passionate crusader for increased access to government information, has died at the age of 85. Story here.
PUBLIC OPINION
The Conservatives have opened up a seven-point lead in vote intention over the Liberals, with three quarters of those who supported the People’s Party of Canada in the last election saying they would back the Tories, according to new research by the Angus Reid Institute. Details here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how to fight inflation. Answer: Look at Britain and do the opposite: ”Imagine you wake up one morning to find that your house is on fire. You grab the phone and dial 911. Send help, you say. A few minutes later, to your great relief, two emergency vehicles pull up. One of them is a big red fire truck, loaded with firefighters and powerful water hoses. The second vehicle’s crew also claim to be firefighters, but they’re carrying jugs of lighter fluid and cords of kindling. Both groups rush to your burning home. One starts pouring water onto the flames. The other starts pouring gasoline. The fire is inflation.”
Rob Carrick (The Globe and Mail) on how Canada Pension Plan premiums are not a tax: “It’s a little insensitive, but necessary, to raise the issue of retirement saving at a time when many households are struggling to pay for groceries and gas. New numbers on financial stress show some households are spending more than they earn and others are either saving nothing or just a little. That’s the inflationary world we live in now. People are under pressure and politicians are paying attention. In Ottawa, newly installed Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has called upon the government to ease the burden by not raising Employment Insurance premiums, Canada Pension Plan contributions and the federal carbon price in 2023. “Will the government cancel these tax hikes so that Canadians can afford to eat, heat and house themselves?” he asked in Question Period last week. Uh, Mr. Poilievre? Canada Pension Plan premiums are not a tax.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on how the affordability crisis is hitting seniors hard: ”In prosperous Canada, almost half of our elders have an income less than that of minimum-wage workers. In B.C., one in four seniors lives on less than $21,000 a year – barely enough to pay rent, let alone eat or get a tooth fixed. Meanwhile, food prices are soaring, rents are on the rise, and government supports are stagnating. Falling Behind, the latest report from B.C.’s indefatigable Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie, paints a sobering picture of the financial struggles of the province’s one million elders, and warns things will only get worse if governments don’t help. While the report is B.C.-focused, every point in this data-heavy publication applies to the 6.4 million people in Canada’s over-65 demographic.”
Michelle Coates Mather (The National Post) on how Jean Charest ran a hard-fought race ad there’s nothing ‘gloomy’ about that: Writing in the Post recently, André Pratte, who was a volunteer on the campaign, regrettably suggests this race represented the “gloomy end of Jean Charest’s political life.” I can tell you this is not the feeling shared by any of us who worked on his core campaign team these last six months. Did the results sting? Yes. Was it all for not? No.”
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